


The Axis of the Universe

by ArtemisRae



Series: Alphabet Challenge [45]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-10
Updated: 2010-08-10
Packaged: 2017-10-21 15:30:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/226730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisRae/pseuds/ArtemisRae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy tries to make Annabeth promise the impossible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Axis of the Universe

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a second round of Alphabet Challenge at my LJ, where I'm given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this fic was "heroine"

* * *

  
_Heroine_  
-noun  
1\. a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities.  
2\. the principal female character in a story, play, film, etc.  


* * *

There aren’t very many safe places for them, as half bloods – not with a world full of monsters, hunters, and gods both minor and otherwise out there waiting for them – but at this point Percy has unconsciously decided that their bed is base; their bed is a safe zone. Nothing can get them.

They’re both nude, and Annabeth is sprawled on her back next to him, boneless and limp. Her eyes are closed but Percy can tell she’s not asleep by the way her chest rises and falls out of rhythm. It’s rare to have a moment with her like this, with her guard down and a tiny, satisfied smirk on her face, and Percy drinks in the sight of her even though he knows her like he knows the way Riptide fits in his hand.

She doesn’t agree with his assessment of safety, because in her mind as long as they’re together, they’re safe. In theory he agrees with her; neither one of them has ever backed down from a fight. The two of them have overcome impossible odds. Why does it matter if they’ve taken a knock or two in the process?

Still…

Percy reaches out and brushes the mark in her side. With the nectar doing its work, it’ll be gone by morning, although he’s pretty sure it – and the look on Annabeth’s face as she slipped on her cap, and the sound she made as she’d been hit – will be permanently seared into his memory.

“Hey,” he says impulsively, rolling over and kissing the knitted wound. “Don’t get hurt again.”

“Pffft,” Annabeth responds, eyes still closed. “Yeah, sure, I’ll get right on that.”

“Promise me,” Percy insists, shifting across her as he brushes kisses, feather light, across her stomach and under her navel.

“Percy,” she says quietly, and now he can see her gray eyes trained on him. There’s a blush crawling across her face. “That’s unfair. I won’t promise it. Or swear it.”

“You don’t have to swear on Styx,” he amends, slipping between her legs and nuzzling her thigh. “Just promise to me.”

Her breath hitches when he breathes on her. “I-I can’t. You can’t –”

“Promise,” he whispers against her skin, ignoring the way she’s arching her back to push her hips down at him. It is suddenly so important to hear her say this, for her to assure him that she has confidence in her ability to fight _and_ her ability to stay safe. He doesn’t know how to ask that; instead, he only murmurs, “Please.”

“I’ll try. I promise, but -” she relents, her heels grazing his shoulders. “But only if you do too.” 


End file.
